


The Nightengale, The Crow and the Owl

by Music_Feeds_My_Soul



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Death, Lovers being cute, Multi, Threesome, rape mention, some nsfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-28 02:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8426353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Music_Feeds_My_Soul/pseuds/Music_Feeds_My_Soul
Summary: DAPolyweek passed, and I decided to post what I wrote! Rosalind Amell and her two lovers are very different, but all three love each other until their dying breath.





	1. How they Met

Whenever one of her Wardens ask how it all started, Rosalind takes a moment to actually remember it all. She always insists beginning when they all first met anyway…

 Leliana and Rosalind met first in Lothering, Leliana offering her skills to a cause she believed was given to her by the Maker. Rosalind accepted not because she believed Leliana’s vision to be true but because she knew they needed all the help they could get. She discovered that Leliana held a sharp eye and deft hands, her tongue cunning when needed but sweet when not. 

Zevran came later, in a flurry of weapons and blood. Rosalind spared his life for no other reason other then she recognized a look in his eyes. The kind of look she saw in mages before they asked to become tranquil or before they became an abomination. He’d given up.

She wanted to see why.

 Zevran was much like Leliana, a whirlwind of sensation Rosalind had never actually faced before. He was shadows and death while holding light in his hands.

 She found it no surprise she fell into bed with the man while they traveled, while holding a small torch for Leliana. Eventually they propositioned her after the whole… Marjoline thing. Leliana fell into bed with them and they were fairly happy together.

 “When did they actually fall in love though?” the Wardens often ask her when she’s done with her small story. Rosalind usually smiles and shrugs before vanishing to her tent or to watch while her mind trails back to how it did happen.

Rosalind realized she was in love with both of them first. There hadn’t been a huge battle or a giant confrontation about it like most imagined.

Leliana had been playing her lute while Zevran sang some song from Antiva, Alistair happily cooking away at their never ending stew. Rosalind had been half-reading the book Wynne had given her about Spirit Healing and half watching them while Sten cleaned his weapon beside her and Wynne worked on some poultices.

Rosalind had been watching with a half smile when the thought she loved them drifted through her head.

She ended up falling over backward, slamming down onto the ground with a yelp. It had disturbed the atmosphere while they fussed over her until she had escaped under the pretense of asking Morrigan questions about shape shifting.

Rosalind had firmly up the idea out of her head afterward. Not out of shame or anything- the young mage had long since decided that she didn’t care enough about what the Chantry said concerning such things and had been in a relationship with two female mages before one became tranquil and the other died during her Harrowing.

The only reason she did so was because of her former research into the whole Grey Warden thing.

Whoever killed the Archdemon died. No matter what.

Rosalind couldn’t risk getting into a relationship with that hanging over her head.

However, she had forgotten both were trained to watch body language and to study people. They figured it out.

Leliana figured her feelings out next, and she rejoiced. She loved them both with all her heart. 

 She did not confess however, her own knowledge showing that this might end in blood.

 Zevran refused to believe in the beginning. How could it be? He hid from his lovers and did not look towards them. He couldn’t do it. 

 Then came Taliesen. His old friend lay in blood and his lovers looked towards him with a smile and he knew, he knew.

 He offered tokens and they were refused- Rosalind afraid of her own death and Leliana not wishing to take them unless they meant something. Zevran grew furious and angry with them.

Rosalind came to them though on the eve of battle pale and scared. Out of her lips tumbled an explanation of her future, of her death. They held her and Zevran offered once more.

 They accepted.

 Rosalind never speaks of how she and her lovers fell in love, instead smirking. 

 She doesn’t need to- they love each other anyway.


	2. Daily Life

After the Blight, they rarely travel all three together again. Instead they buy a small house in Val Royeaux to stay in when they can, the location perfect for them. Few know who Rosalind is outside of Ferelden and she hides her magic well, though they all see the blue and silver she wears when she walks out the door with her mabari by her heels. They take care to speak to her kindly because of it, while Leliana rejoins the Chantry with the agreement she never take vows of Chastity. Zevran is seen as their servant or guard and the three giggle over it endlessly.

It’s rare for all three to be home at once. Zevran had wished to hunt down the Crows who haunted his step, while Leliana was made a high agent of the Left Hand fairly early on after they got the house. Rosalind herself cannot bear to stay in one place to long, her mind drawn back to the Circle and their chains on her as well as her duties to the Wardens.

They try to stay within a day’s distance of each other, however. Failing that, they try to stay two at least together, yearning for their third.

Their home is near the edge of the city where they do not mind Star, Rosalind’s fat mabari nor his pups- crossbreeds with various street dogs. Rosalind has a room in it for her potions while Zevran shares it for poisons. Leliana claimed the attic when they first moved in for her nugs and birds.

When they are all together in their home, Rosalind has a small fire going. Her mind is reminded of a tower that was to cold for a young child and she fears the cold. Leliana and Zevran do not protest the fire, and instead try to keep her warm.

Zevran stashes his knives around the house in various places, while Leliana has a bow ready at any time. Rosalind’s own magic is ready to fire at any second, all of them on edge and ready.

Their bed is a monstrosity of pillows and covers, lace and embroidery cover their blankets and their pillows are fluffy and soft. Rosalind sleeps facing the window to watch the stars- the window large and grand to show all the heavens. Leliana sleeps in front, curled up into Rosalind’s stomach while Zevran sprawls behind her.

Leliana is the one to wake first in the morning while the other two snore, slipping out like a ghost. She doesn’t cook- neither of the others trust her near the food after their days spent traveling around Ferelden. Instead she prays and works a little while the other two sleep.

It’s a toss up who wakes up next- Rosalind and Zevran had the idea to wake up early beat into them from a young age, but their rebellion against their childhoods make them try to sleep as long as possible.

If Rosalind wakes first, she ends up waking Zevran when she trips getting out of bed, her tall frame awkward in the morning. If Zevran wakes first, he slips away to begin to make tea for the house. Rosalind wakes up from the cold of the bed shortly after to stumble down the stairs.

Rosalind is the one to cook breakfast, an easy oatmeal flavoured with various spices she finds in the markets. A rasher of bacon on birthdays with eggs, but mostly they stick to oatmeal. Rosalind enjoys the process, not minding the tradition taught to her in a place she despised when it makes her lovers happy.

Rosalind takes Star out after breakfast, heading to the small market near their home to shop for silly trinkets and spices. She keeps an eye out for figurines and lines them on her windowsill in her potion room, a sad smile on her face as she thinks of Alistair.

Zevran slips away to keep an ear to the ground for spies and assassins. His grip on a band of crows grows tighter and he grins in delight at it. He does a little freelance work as well, mostly for Leliana against the enemies of the Divine.

Leliana does her work for the Divine and speaks little of it. She washes dishes because she is not allowed to cook before she goes to work, slipping into the Chantry with her face blank.

Lunch is taken away from each other, Zevran buying from a stall selling Antivan meat sticks he munches on while he works. Leliana eats the plain potatoes and meat given to the cloister. Rosalind rarely eats lunch- a popular punishment for the clumsy mage had been to deprive her of her midday meal. It makes Leliana growl and Zevran snarl seeing her body- her meals had never been enough growing up (after learning of her heritage, she knew she should be taller and with more muscle) and her bones still seem to stick out, her Warden blood screaming for food. Zevran needs to come to remind her to eat at noon, and he rarely can.

The afternoons for Rosalind is spent teaching the children around them or in the Alienage how to fight, or speaking in secret to the Mages Collective. Zevran will accompany her if he met her for lunch, or appear with her, the two working together.

Leliana comes home near dusk, while Zevran slips in earlier to make supper, a large meal he makes as much as possible of to shove down Rosalind’s throat.

After supper, they all wash dishes and spend the evening in the living room, reading or working on bit and pieces. Sometimes Leliana plays her lyre and sometimes Zevran sings. Sometimes Rosalind reads aloud to her lovers and her mabari.

Before bed, Rosalind sits in the window sill and watches the stars for hours, until her lovers pull her to bed.

It’s perfect.


	3. Arguments, jealousy, pet peeves, hurt and comfort

Sometimes a friend or a coworker or an underling will ask how they all manage their jealousy. Often the person being asked will just shrug in answer.

Because, the truth is they don’t get jealous. It’s to much of a bother and they all trust each other. (Which is actually shocking to all three.) So if they hear rumors, they shrug and trust their lover. If they witness one of their lovers flirting, they snicker and tease said lover after. 

 They might joke about time being spent with others, but they all know that they’re glad that all of them have something that takes up a fair bit of time so that there isn’t jealousy.

-0-

 Usually, the question about jealousy is followed by them wondering about arguments. That’s met with a chuckle and lavish leer from Zevran, a smirk from Leliana and a big grin from Rosalind that makes the asker back off or laugh themselves.

 But, really? Arguing tends to take the form of passive aggressive arguments between Leliana and Zevran while Rosalind is to scared to argue with either. She enjoys watching them both argue because it’s insanely attractive but she gets so scared about disagreeing with them due to the time in the tower being terrified if she argues with someone she’ll be punished. 

It’s five years into their relationship she actually disagrees on Leliana’s newest nug’s name.

Zevran and Leliana are both thrilled. (Even though Leliana knew that Lady Snuffiton was a perfect name for her nug.)

 Arguments more revolve around work then anything.. Leliana will yell at Zevran for killing someone she’s been watching or Zevran will complain at Leliana about one of her spies screwing up an assassination. It typically ends with them in a bed and Rosalind happily reaping the benefits in the end. 

 When Rosalind actually has to argue with them, it’s typically about the fact she nearly got killed or came home wounded. It’s a bit calmer, but it ends with them in bed again, though this time simply holding one another.

 They make it a point never to sleep angry with each other.

-0-

 “Doesn’t anything about them annoy you?” Nathaniel asked once while they were in the Dales dealing with a few annoying Darkspawn. Rosalind had simply groaned.

 “Maker, yes.”

But, other then Rosalind complaining about her lovers jumping from the freaking shadows every time she turns around? There really isn’t much about each other that bugs them too much.

Mostly their pet peeves revolve around how Zevran arranges the table settings, or how Leliana insists on the three forks, two spoons and four knives at every meal. Or how Rosalind folds the clothing so it’s in a ball so there’s more room in their drawers.

Or how Rosalind insists on Star sleeping in their room, or how Leliana’s nugs make so much noise, or how Zevran had better stop stealing from Rosalind’s herb cupboard or she’ll figure out how to turn him into a toad! 

 “Somedays, I don’t know how I put up with them!” Rosalind had laughed as a joke. But the truth is she does know.

They all know how their lives can end.

 Zevran dances on the edge of a knife while fighting the Crows. Leliana is one knife away from death in her dance among the Game. Rosalind has a time limit, and she regularly goes out to kill darkspawn.

Their lives hang in a balance that’s constantly being jerked back and forth, and they try not to sweat the small stuff.

-0-

 No one asks about what happens on the bad days. The days when Rosalind wakes from her nightmares or either darkspawn or the Circle. The days when Zevran walks with hollow eyes. The days when Leliana can’t wash the blood of her hands.

  Those days are spent around the fire or in bed, Leliana sending a message she will be at home working. They don’t speak or do much other then simply hold each other. 

 Sometimes they will initate something, needing to feel each other, but they still don’t talk. There isn’t much to say.

 They try not to think about it, about their dreams and their thoughts. They don’t talk about it either, they all know.

 Nor do they talk about the possible end for them. There isn’t much to say about it and they all know how their lives can end. So they simply enjoy the moment, hold their lovers tight and smile.

(Some nights though, Zevran hugs his lovers to his chest and tries not to cry. Some mornings Leliana prays harder then ever, begging a God she isn’t sure cares to keep them safe. Some days Rosalind wakes up panting from dreams that haunt her and wishes things were different.)


	4. Alternate Universe

In one world, Alistair didn’t manage to grab a poultice to heal himself. In one universe he didn’t die for his friend, his fellow Warden, his sister.

In one world, Rosalind rips open her own veins and screams as power rips through her. In one universe Rosalind falls to the battlements with her eyes blank and blood drained from her body.

In one world, Rosalind is made a hero in death. In one universe, Alistair stands tall and tries to say sorry.

In one world, Leliana and Zevran hold onto each other with both hands, as their world crashes down. In one universe, they watch their lover kill herself.

In one world, Leliana throws herself in to her work, reaching out to hold onto Zevran when she needs to _breathe._ In one universe, Zevran slaughters Crows and crawls back to bury himself in the arms of one of the women he loves.

In one world, Rosalind lies dead and a statue is her honor while Leliana and Zevran mourn, shaking their heads at an honor she would never have wanted. In one universe, Leliana fights for mages in remembrance of the woman she loved and still loves, remembering ribs and too thin skin.

In one world, Rosalind leaves a letter behind explaining she knows Alistair would never wish for his child to grow up without him, and she can’t do that to him after it happened to her when she was fifteen. In one universe, Leliana hunts down Rosalind’s child and finds a grave for a child killed by a Templar for having magic at six.

In one world, Leliana sneers at Cullen and refuses to look at him, only saying to him; “Missed meals?” He gets it and pales. In one universe, Zevran takes pleasure in wiping the Templars who hurt his mage off the face of Thedas.

In one world, Leliana purposely destroys any evidence of an alliance between the Inquisition and the Templars. In one universe, she lies through her teeth to the world about any contact from them.

In one world, Leliana cannot be swayed to be kind to any who oppose her in her goals. In one universe, Zevran slaughters those who would destroy what his lover is working towards.

In one world, Leliana is Divine. In one universe, Zevran is a grandmaster of assassins.

In one world, Rosalind died.

In one universe, her lovers wish they did.  


	5. Name Days and Holidays

None of them celebrates their Name-Day. Rosalind barely remembers the fantastic parties her parents threw, only knowing the day was like any other in the Circle. Zevran never celebrated at all while Leliana’s memories are to bitter.

Holidays, however, are celebrate fiercely.

Firstday is celebrated by Rosalind and Zevran baking treats while Leliana eagerly gets her hands on some brandy and wine. They wear the best clothes they have and spend an hour drinking and laughing loudly. They then visit everyone on their street, laughing and spreading cheer. They have a drink at every house, a bit of a treat every time.

They do not go to the big party in the Market Place, instead they hold a party for their neighbors and feed everyone they can, laughing and smiling with joy. They drink to forget the year and to look towards the new one.

 Wintersend is spent with Rosalind pointedly refusing to go near a proving ground while Leliana drags them to the theater. They spend time together, cuddling in their bed and simply speaking. Marriage is brought to them by their neighbors and they shake their heads in answer.

They will all marry or none of them will.

Summerday is a day mostly for Leliana and her work. Rosalind makes a face and does not like thinking of the Circle and their way of celebrating by reminding all the mages they are abominations. Zevran simply enjoys watching Leliana smile.

Funalis is different. Leliana uses it to remember Andraste in the morning, while Zevran thinks about those he once called friend or lover that he lost. Rosalind finds her mind cast back to the circle, to see the bodies of those she was raised with slaughtered. She thinks of those the Templars cut down or hurt in her youth.

But most of all she thinks of a Warden with a sunny smile and a way of making her feel like a kid. Rosalind thinks of a Warden she mourns fiercely with all her heart and bitterly hates herself for never accepting Morrigan’s deal.

All three sit together in the evening, drinking for those the Blight claimed, those that the world lost during that time. They drink and mourn and then get up the next day to go about their lives, never forgetting.

Satinalia is the holiday they all love. Rosalind cooks a feast while Zevran finds the silliest of masks for them all. Leliana decorates and finds the parties that they actually need to go to so they don’t make the wrong person angry. They spend it just the three of them on the day though, simply together, eating, drinking and falling in love all over again.

 They don’t give gifts other then trinkets they find, silly things they find in the market or things they make themselves. They already have each other.

 They don’t need anything else.

ady have each other. They don’t need anything else.


	6. NSFW

Sex with three is an interesting experience. They all have their quirks among themselves and things they refuse to do.

Zevran cannot be bound, his wrists and ankles must remain free at all times. Yet Leliana enjoys it, enjoys the silk scarves around her wrists and ankles, enjoys giving up control to her lovers who enjoy it just as much as she does.

Rosalind cannot be blindfolded. Zevran however finds it pleasurable, to be unaware of who is kissing him, who has wrapped their mouth around him, who is sinking down on him, who sits on his face.

Leliana cannot be the one who is on the bottom, a lover eating her out or thrusting while she pleasures the other with her mouth. Rosalind adores it, to suckle or lick while her nether regions are used.

Some smells they cannot stand to have around for sex- Rosalind cannot bear the smell of metal, Leliana shakes from the smell of flowers while Zevran avoids straw.

None of them are fond of morning sex, preferring the night more then anything. Sometimes if they were together during the day, they might have a little fun with all three or just two, but they do not particularly seek it out.

Rosalind enjoys sex laying down or sitting, her advanced height making standing sex awkward. Leliana at times will sit on her lap, the two women smirking as they give Zevran a show he enjoys lavishly.

Sex is a part of their relationship they are open about, honest and calm about. Rosalind at times is to blunt, her time in the Circle making her very open about it. Leliana is somewhat surprised by what comes out of her mouth.

 


	7. The Future

They do not think of their future. Rosalind knows of the deadline for herself. She knows that one day she will walk a bath her fellows have walked from the beginning, knows one day she will meet her fate in the dark, that she will join her Brothers and Sisters.

She just doesn’t talk about it.

Leliana knows her own future will probably end in blood. She knows she balances on a knife and that her work in the shadows can lead to her downfall in seconds as she watches for knives against the Divine.

She does not think about it.

Zevran knows he will probably die to a blade. His life has been death and pain since he was a child. He knows that he will never find another calling but the one of death dealing and knows that the job typically comes with an end that’s a knife in his throat.

He does not acknowledge it.

Instead, they focus on the now, on Star and his puppies. On their home and their friends.

They will separate for a period of time when the mages rebel, Rosalind needing to run from their home, hearing voices that sound off. She vanishes with an elf running after her to remind her it is not time- it cannot be time while her redheaded lover works to make sure the mages are free.

Rosalind will hear a rumor of a possible cure and she hunts it, Zevran with her with their hearts in their throats only to have them dashed in the end.

They will come back to a woman made Divine as their lover. She does not care and names Rosalind her Right Hand and Zevran her Left. She declares marriage something not between two people but between anyone in love and ‘Chastely’ married her lovers. It’s a scandal and those in the know snicker about it, but they love each other fiercely.

Star will die a few years later and Rosalind mourns with a heavy heart while she works tiredly. They will look over the orphans in the care of the Chantry with smiles and joy and Rosalind shows that magic is not something to be feared but to be celebrated.

They will be happy together even as dark marks begin to appear on Rosalind’s skin and her dreams are plagued with voices of the Darkspawn.

Time is and will always be their enemy.

She will vanish one day with a letter begging them not to follow. She vanishes to the Deep Roads with poison in hand to drink if need be so she is not made a Broodmother.

She will die with a smile on her face, slapping a Walking Bomb to herself and to all the Darkspawn around her.

Leliana and Zevran will live on after, together not letting go. Leliana will become fond of a mage child who wants to be a Mother in the Chantry and Zevran shares the fondness. They will look to her and see a possible child they could have had with Rosalind and take care of her as such.

Leliana will dis naming the child her successor, a blade through her gut by an angry Mother who is jealous. Zevran will die with a blade in his heart from behind while protecting the new Divine.

They will die looking forward to seeing Rosalind again.

They don’t like looking to the future now, but they know how it will end.

So they just live.


End file.
